"Well... Do you think we could take this over somewhere else? The Cafeteria may be? I promise, I will answer every single of your questions, kids." Amato spoke with a sheepish smile on his face, as his hand reached over to the back of his neck.
"Okay...." He got a chorus of agreement in return.
"Alright then, meet me in my cabin later Admiral." With that, Maskmana walked away pretty quickly making Amato frown. He thought that atleast he will be there for some emotional support or something....
"Okay so... Let's head to the Cafeteria then..." Amato said and started to lead the way. Within a couple of minutes, everyone we settled on the tables in the cafeteria with a hot sizzling cup of coffee in their hands.
"So first question dad, am I half alien or something?" Boboiboy question as soon as Amato sat in a chair, near to him.
"Ahh... About that... Yes... You are technically an half-alien. But there isn't much biological difference regular humans and your mom's race. You will pass as a full human you see... Nobody would be able to tell a difference between you and other humans, even with full diagnostics test." Amato spoke awkwardly as he took a sip of his own coffee.
"I'm glad to hear that." Boboiboy grumbled with a slight relief in his tone.
"Me next!!!! Admiral, how did you become this spiky head's Uncle?!? And why didn't Boboiboy tell us that you are a superhero?!?" Ying shot her questions super-fast before anybody could open their mouth. Fang made some protesting noises at the 'spiky head' part.
"Fang is the son of my wife's elder sister. So the answer to your first question is, I became his Uncle as soon as I tied knots with my wife. And Boboiboy wasn't exactly allowed to, you know, advertise the fact that his father is a superhero who works in space!" Amato answered with a smile. Boboiboy too, smiled sheepishly at Ying.
"Can we meet your wife, Admiral???" Yaya asked this time, totally unaware of the dull look that settled in Amato's eyes as soon she asked her question.
"She..... I.... Uhh...." Amato stammered, struggling to answer.
"She perished when I was four." Boboiboy and Fang answered in unison, coming to Amato's aid. Yaya instantly felt bad hearing their answer.
"I'm so sorry Admiral... I really didn't know."
"It's okay, dear. I just.... drifted into memories. That's all. Don't worry. By the way, you guys can call me Amato or Uncle if you prefer, no need for formalities out of working hours." Amato reassured Yaya with a small smile.
"Can you tell us more about Mom, Dad??? No pressure, tell us only if you are comfortable." Boboiboy hesitantly asked and Amato patted his head lovingly at his hesitance.
"Ofcourse son.... You wanna know how we met?"
"Yes!"
"So listen closely then." All the kids' attention were on Amato instantly.
"I was around... 18 I believe, when I joined Tapops. Ava was 18 too... I was assigned as a Cadet at Laskar in the beginning. I still remember the day very clearly. It was my first day. I was getting introduced into a new team. Guess who were all there in the team?"
"You and Aunt Ava!!!!" Fang answered immediately with a gleeful voice.
"Two members aren't called as a team Fang! They will be called as a duo or Partners!!! But Uncle clearly said that he was getting introduced in a TEAM!!!" Ying opposed while Fang pouted hearing her. Amato laughed at their antics.
"Well.. You're right Fang. Your aunt was also a part of our team! But she was running late that day. The team consisted of Admiral Tarung, who was Cadet like me back then, Commander KokoCi, a Cadet too, Fang's Mother Eva Arthur, who was a Corporal, and Fang's Father Victor Levis, who was our Captain back then. My wife was a Lance-Corporal."
"WHAT?!?! ADMIRAL TARUNG!? COMMANDER KOKOCI!?" "MOM AND DAD TOO?!??!" Everyone suddenly yelled at the new information.
"Calm down kids... Yes, your Admiral, Commander and I were a part of the same team. And yes Fang, your mom and dad too... Actually, they were already married when I met. And hey! Kaizo was already born! I remember meeting a toddler Kaizo a few weeks after I joined... God, time really flies very fast."
"Captain Kaizo as a toddler... I'm not even able to imagine." Gopal stated with his nose scrunched up. Everyone burst out laughing seeing Gopal's face.
"So anyway... Ava was late that day. She came running in, half an hour later after the introduction session. She apologized to our then Admiral and introduced herself to me. Man... I was terrified even to look at her to be honest. She looked so serious, like dead serious, when she introduced herself that I thought she didn't want a new teammate at all."
At this Boboiboy burst of laughing. "Dad! You were terrified of Mom?!? You gotta be kidding right? Ava Diaz is the sweetest person ever to exist, Tok Aba always says this. I wouldn't have been so surprised if you had said that you were terrified of Aunt Eva.... But Mom?" And with that others started laughing too.
"Hey!?!? Your Aunt was another thing. I was already informed by a few other agents that I shouldn't try to mess with your Aunt at all. She might look like a calm person, but she can literally kill you within minutes. Her code name was literally the dark angel."
"Wow... Mom sounds so cool!!!" Fang mused with his eyes shining in admiration.
"Right... Back to the story... Then later that day, I accidently spilled Coffee all over Ava's new clothes, staining it completely. And that's when our rivalry started."
"Rivalry?" Yaya cocked her head to one side.
"Yup. Then we used to fight for anything and everything. Fang's father Victor had a very tough time managing us." Amato laughed as Victor's I-am-tired-of-these-idiots face flashed in his mind.
"I remember that one day, we were in a stimulation training session. We had to cross a river, which was very broad and the current was too high to swim. So I had to carry everyone one by one to the other side of the river, since only I could fly. But Ava was so against the idea. She threw a fit that she would never let a 'meanie' like me to help her. I started arguing back and it grew into a big fight and our then Admiral, Admiral Jones, called the training off and advised both of us for an hour straight."
"Then how did you, you know, marry Boboiboy's mom Uncle?" Ying asked genuinely confused.
"That is a question that I still don't know the answer for. I seriously don't have a clue but somehow we fell in love. It took us months to even realize that we were in love and even longer to admit it. But now, thinking back, I think it was all like a fairy tale you know... The hero and heroine hated each other but they fell in love and lived happily ever after. Kinda cliché, I know, but I loved every moment of our banter and every moment we spent together."
"And then the hero and heroine couldn't even take their eyes off eachother, always made lovey-dovey eyes all the time, flirted back and forth everyday even after having a child, and what not." A new voice spoke, cutting the conversation in the middle. The voice came from Gopal's watch. It was Admiral Tarung, in his 'out of working hours' persona. Amato flushed in embaressment.
"Admiral!!! How long were you on the line?" Gopal asked frantically, panicking. But he was thankful for the fact that it was a way past working hours and Admiral Tarung was white-colored now.
"I was there on the call right from the beginning, Gopal. I think you called me accidentally. But the story was interesting and it brought back memories, so I stayed on the call."
"Tarung!!! You are embarrassing me!" Amato whined, his cheeks flushing red.
"Hey! I just said the truth... You should be thankful that I didn't mention your antics in the Tapops' golden jubilee party! Man... you were so mesmerized by Ava that day, weren't you? And how can I even forget about the time I caught you both dancing under the stars!!! I took a picture too! And I still have it!!!"
"TARUNG!!! Get out of the line, this instant! You are embarrassing me!"
"Okay... Relax... I'm going... Bye!" And Tarung disconnected the call.
Suddenly, a was picture was sent to all the power watches of Boboiboy and his friends.
"Wow... It's you and your wife right, Uncle??? It's so romantic..." Yaya and Ying exclaimed together with heart eyes making Amato blush in embarrassment.
"I'm going to murder that Cat Head when I see him next time. You guys better start searching for a new Admiral. So anyway... Then we got married... Kaizo was 8 years old I believe, and he was the ring-bearer during our marriage. And then a year later we had Boboiboy, and Eva and Victor had Fang. Boboiboy and Fang were born just a few months apart."
"Wow dad.... It was so refreshing to hear about you, mom, aunt and everyone..." Boboiboy said sincerely and Fang nodded along.
"And I will tell you more about everyone, later. Now off to bed everyone. Training starts tomorrow and 7 am sharp. Don't be late or else Maskmana will rip your heads off." Amato spoke the others whined in protest.
"Nah nah... Off to bed guys," Amato said again, this time a little strictly.
"Okay fine Dad / Uncle.... Good Night!"
"Good night."
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Did you all like the chapter????
Boboiboy and Fang believe that Ava is dead. How will they react when they come to know about the truth that Ava is Maskmana? And why did Ava had to play dead in the first place??? Stay connected to know what happens!!!!
PS.: Admiral Tarung in this chapter is the 'out of working hours' Tarung.
Please do vote and comment!!!!